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Scrooge, Peter and You. A call to action.

I serve as the vicar of two local churches in the North West of England with small but stable congregations. At times, it can seem that there is not much hope for the church as fewer people are attending than years ago. However, this is not the case – there are fewer attending but there is a sure and certain hope. The first reason to believe that the church will grow in numbers is that Jesus promises to build his church. The second is that God has called together some great people with the gifts and abilities that are needed – that is to say: I am hopeful because you are part of the church. And thirdly I know there is hope for the future of the church because growth and transformation have happened before.

Two hundred years ago, in the early 19th Century, as astonishing as it may seem, Christmas in Great Britain had become almost extinct. The Times newspaper did not mention Christmas once between 1790 and 1835. Not once! However, Charles Dickens was instrumental in reviving Christmas during the Victorian era. He wrote his book ‘A Christmas Carol’ in 1843 for several reasons. Unemployment and famine was widespread. About 1 in 10 people were as poor as you can possibly imagine, or worse than we can probably imagine. Dickens wanted to challenge the Government and the wealthy to act with generosity and with compassion and so his character Ebenezer Scrooge brings that challenge into focus. Nowadays, not many people want to be like Scrooge at the start of the book. I guess we all hope we can become more like the joyful, genial, generous Scrooge from the last scenes of the book or film. Dickens’ book helped to revive Christmas traditions of generosity within our country. And just as Dickens story revived Christmas so our own personal stories of God’s faithfulness can revive the church.

In the following verse Peter is referred to, now it’s our turn.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:18.

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This March we commemorate the day Jesus died, Good Friday, right on the last day of
the month. The significance of the death of Jesus is summed up in this verse:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
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There is an amazing simplicity here – 21 words of only one syllable, one word of two
syllables, and one word (righteousness) of three syllables. It could hardly be simpler than
this–yet whole books could be written on the meaning of each phrase.
How important is this verse? Miss this and you’ve missed the truth of God. If you get this
right, you can be wrong in a lot of other places and still go to heaven. In these days of
rampant theological confusion, it is vitally important that the church of Jesus Christ be
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God has not
committed to us a message about political power or military might.

Advanced technology is affecting our life today by causing an increase in luxuries and facilities that result in more laziness. We can order almost anything on Amazon and get it delivered. We can get any food we want from the local supermarket. These and other cultural factors, such as the popularity of sugary foods, have resulted in a simple horrific truth: more people are becoming obese these days. It is one of the most rapidly thriving health problems of the 21st century. This health problem is more serious in developed countries. It causes serious heart problems and results in devastated effects on body.

One cure, the one that I have found to work, is the adoption of low carbohydrate diet; a diet containing lesser amounts of carbohydrates. Low carb diet enhances your body by shifting your metabolism towards the burning of fat instead of carbs. As fats are the primary cause of obesity so they must be removed to cure the effect. When your intake of carbohydrates; which are direct …

about Pete:

Peter Timothy Cooper is a preacher and Bible expositor with tendency to moments of brilliance and times of waffle. He is vicar of Poulton and Seacombe in the NW of England and broadcasts onPhysical and spiritual health.